Iliad by Homer - Join iZDOT

Homer’s Iliad
henceforward you would insult no man. Therefore I say, and swear
it with a great oath- nay, by this my sceptre which shalt sprout
neither leaf nor shoot, nor bud anew from the day on which it left
its parent stem upon the mountains- for the axe stripped it of leaf
and bark, and now the sons of the Achaeans bear it as judges and
guardians of the decrees of heaven- so surely and solemnly do I
swear that hereafter they shall look fondly for Achilles and shall
not find him. In the day of your distress, when your men fall dying
by the murderous hand of Hector, you shall not know how to help
them, and shall rend your heart with rage for the hour when you
offered insult to the bravest of the Achaeans."
With this the son of Peleus dashed his gold-bestudded sceptre on
the ground and took his seat, while the son of Atreus was
beginning fiercely from his place upon the other side. Then uprose
smooth-tongued Nestor, the facile speaker of the Pylians, and the
words fell from his lips sweeter than honey. Two generations of
men born and bred in Pylos had passed away under his rule, and
he was now reigning over the third. With all sincerity and
goodwill, therefore, he addressed them thus:-
"Of a truth," he said, "a great sorrow has befallen the Achaean land.
Surely Priam with his sons would rejoice, and the Trojans be glad
at heart if they could hear this quarrel between you two, who are so
excellent in fight and counsel. I am older than either of you;
therefore be guided by me. Moreover I have been the familiar
friend of men even greater than you are, and they did not disregard
my counsels. Never again can I behold such men as Pirithous and
Dryas shepherd of his people, or as Caeneus, Exadius, godlike
Polyphemus, and Theseus son of Aegeus, peer of the immortals.
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